Highland Odyssey: Outlander Tour Scotland

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OVERVIEW

This Outlander tour was designed especially for the fans of all things Jamie & Claire. Relive the tragic battles, death-defying escapes, and sentimental moments of Outlander. You visit towns that are virtually unchanged since the 16th century; wander through ancient battlefields; and visit some of Scotland’s most hidden-away castles. What’s more is that you share this unique experience with Outlander fans from around the world. Discuss your favourite scenes from the show, enjoy Scotland’s gorgeous landscapes, and follow the epic journey of the time-travelling love affair.

Tour Highlights Include:

Clava Cairns – Travel through winding back roads and discover a 4,000-year-old cemetery.

Doune Castle – One of the most filmed castles in Scotland. It stars as Castle Leoch in Outlander, featured in Monty Python’s ‘Holy Grail’, and the pilot for Game of Thrones.

Loch Ness – Take a chance to go on an optional boat cruise or wander around this alluring and eerie loch.

Glen Affric – Lochs, mountains and pine forests: this is one of Scotland’s most glorious glens. It’s also a great hiding spot for Jamie!

Culloden – A sad place to visit. It’s the location of a tragic Outlander scene and a catastrophic battle between Jacobites and Government troops.

Culross – This town looks like it never left the 16th century. It was also the setting for the fictional Outlander town, Cranesmuir.

Falkland – This quaint town in the Kingdom of Fife boasts a beautiful palace and a serene setting.

Midhope Castle – Jamie’s family home, Lallybroch, is as lovely as it looks in the show.

When you are on tour, you will travel by comfortable minibus, maximum 16 persons per tour, with an experienced driver/guide.

Tour Code: JVUK03

Included/Excluded

Meal as per Mentioned in Itinerary
Accommodation 3/4/5 Star Hotel
Private Sightseeing Tours
All Taxes Included
and More

Airfare
Insurance
Any Gratitude at your own Choice

Tour Plan

Day 1 Welcome to Scotland

Day 1

Welcome to Scotland

Arrive at Edinburgh Airport, where we will meet and take you to your centrally located hotel. Enjoy a free evening in Scotland’s capital city.

Overnight in Edinburgh.

Day 2 Explore Edinburgh

Breakfast in your hotel, and a day to explore this amazing City.

Explore the cobbled streets of the Royal Mile and Edinburgh’s Old Town. Discover its narrow Closes and Wynds from Holyroodhouse Palace, via Canongate up to Edinburgh Castle.

Overnight in Edinburgh.

Day 3 Culross, Falkland & Inverness

Breakfast in your hotel, then make your way to the meeting point for departure of the tour. Join fellow travellers as your board your minibus for this exciting adventure out of the City.

You leave Edinburgh and begin following the trail of the best-known film locations featured in the Outlander TV Series.

Heading north, your first stop is the charming village of Culross. In Outlander, Culross posed as the fictional village of Cranesmuir and the home of Geillis Duncan and her ill-fated husband, Arthur. Exploring the town’s cobbled streets is like taking a step back in time. Look carefully and you may even find Claire’s herb garden behind the impressive, historic Culross Palace.

You continue to the small town of Falkland to relive the first scenes of the show, where Falkland substitutes for 1940s Inverness. See if you can recognize the familiar sights such as Mrs. Baird’s Guesthouses (The Covenanter Hotel) and the Bruce Fountain, where Claire’s husband Frank sees the ghost of Jamie.

In the early afternoon, you stop at the Newtonmore Highland Folk Museum, which houses replicas of 18th-century turf-roofed Highland crofts. These were used as a setting in the first episode of the show.

Venturing further north, you pass Aviemore, where you may recognise the stunning hilly and wooded area of Tulloch Ghru. This appeared during the journey Claire takes with Jamie and the Highlanders from Craigh na Dun to Castle Leoch.

You arrive in Inverness later in the afternoon.

Day 4 Culloden , Clava Cairns & Beauly

You first travel to Culloden. This site plays an important role in Scottish history and the Outlander books. It’s not far from the battlefield where the couple said their tearful goodbyes before Jamie joined the Jacobite army to fight for the Stuarts. You have the opportunity to explore the visitor centre and site, and pay tribute to those who lost their lives at the last battle fought on British soil.

You then take a short drive to the ancient standing stones at Clava Cairns, which may have been the inspiration for Craigh na Dun.

After lunch, we continue to Castle Leod, “home of the Clan MacKenzie”, where you can enjoy a relaxing walk while your guide tells you the history of the clan and area. The Castle resembles how Diana Gabaldon described Castle Leoch, however she had never heard of this building prior to writing Outlander.

A short drive takes you to Beauly, the site of Beauly Priory and the tomb of Lord Lovat in the heart of Clan Fraser lands. Beauly Priory is a beautiful 13th-century ruin and where the Lovat Frasers are buried in Diana Gabaldon’s book.

In the afternoon, you can sample ‘The Water of Life’ with a whisky distillery tour and tasting.

We return to Inverness with time to explore the town and enjoy the city for another evening.

Day 05 Loch Ness, the Great Glenn and Glenfinnan

Your day starts with a visit to the majestic Glen Affric. Lochs, mountains and pine forests: this is one of Scotland’s most glorious glens. It’s also an ideal spot for Jamie to hide.

You then continue along the entire length of Loch Ness and through the Great Glen before heading to Glenfinnan. The monument here commemorates the beginning of the last Jacobite rising. It stands framed by Loch Shiel and bedside a famous section of the Jacobite Steam Train railway line, famously used as the Hogwarts Express in Harry Potter.

Your overnight stop is in Fort William underneath the shadow of Britain’s tallest mountain, Ben Nevis.

Day 06 Glencoe, Doune Castle & Blackness Castle

You start the day with a magnificent drive through Glencoe and cross the rugged Trossachs area onto Doune Castle. The Castle is an extensive ruin that represents Castle Leoch in the TV programme, home to Colum MacKenzie and his clan in the 18th-century episodes.

Later, you have a photo stop at Blackness Castle on the banks of the Firth of Forth. This was used as the set for Fort William in the show and appears in many other movies because of its beautiful setting and thickly fortified walls.

Midhope Castle* is your next highlight. Unfortunately, visitors are unable to go inside the Castle, but Jamie’s lovely Lallybroch home is still an essential photo opportunity for any fan of the show.

You return to Edinburgh in the early evening, and transfer to your hotel.

*Midhope Castle is occasionally closed due to filming and farming work.

Day 07 Return home

Breakfast in the your Edinburgh hotel. It’s time to leave Edinburgh – or maybe extend your stay.

Private transfer to the airport for your return flight home.